Weapons (DN64)
The weapons in Duke Nukem 64 are different from those found in the original Duke Nukem 3D. Some weapons have been replaced with new ones, and three weapons now support multiple ammo types. All the weapons have been graphically redrawn. List of Weapons Mighty Foot * Capacity: N/A Duke's "Mighty Foot" can be used to kick enemies, dealing mild damage. The Mighty Foot can kick enemies indefinitely and at a constant rate, as it requires no ammo or stamina. Pistol * Capacity: 192 rounds (changed from 200 in Duke Nukem 3D) The Pistol has been redrawn to resemble a Colt M1911. Shotgun * Capacity: 50 rounds The Shotgun has been redrawn to resemble a Franchi SPAS-12. SMGs (Sub-Machine Guns) * Capacity: 400 rounds The SMGs resemble two mini-SMGs with dual magazines, possibly based on MP5Ks. They are very inaccurate at long ranges; their hitscan is not aligned with the player, resulting in large horizontal offsets at greater distances. Grenade Launcher * Capacity: 48 grenades The Grenade Launcher fires grenades that explode after a three-second delay. The grenades bounce and roll during those three seconds, allowing for stealth-attacks on unsuspecting enemies around corners. However, the grenades automatically explode upon contact with enemies and with certain destructible objects, such as cracks in walls. The launcher itself resembles the Hawk Grenade Launcher. Pipe Bombs * Capacity: 50 pipe bombs These have not been changed from Duke Nukem 3D, except that they are now emblazoned with the Duke Nukem logo. Shrinker * Capacity: 66 rounds (changed from 50 in Duke Nukem 3D) Although the Shrinker was supposed to be an experimental weapon designed by the government in Duke Nukem 3D, game lore in the Duke Nukem 64 game manual states that the Shrinker is supposed to be an advanced alien weapon. The amount of ammo that can be carried has increased. Expander * Capacity: 99 rounds (changed from 50 in Duke Nukem 3D) Although the Expander was supposed to be an experimental weapon designed by the government in Duke Nukem 3D, game lore in the Duke Nukem 64 game manual states that the Expander is supposed to be an advanced alien weapon. The amount of ammo that can be carried has increased. Missile Launcher * Capacity: 50 missiles The Missile Launcher is similar to the RPG from Duke Nukem 3D. Laser Tripbomb * Capacity: 10 tripbombs These have not changed, except that they are more conspicuous because the red laser beam that they emit now sparkles. Plasma Cannon * Capacity: 99 energy units This weapon fires plasma beams that deal moderate-to-high damage, depending on how long the cannon is charged before firing. Any enemy killed by the Plasma Cannon will disintegrate. When fully charged, it comes close to killing Battlelord Sentries in a single shot. This weapon is somewhat similar to the BMF Thunderstrike from Duke Nukem: Zero Hour, as well as the BFG9000 from Doom. Secondary Ammo Types Three weapons now support multiple ammo types, a feature that didn't exist in Duke Nukem 3D. After acquiring multiple ammo types for a given weapon, the player is able to cycle through ammo types by re-selecting the associated weapon. When re-selected, the weapon's ammo in the bottom left-hand corner of the HUD will change to the sprite associated with the current ammo type. The maximum ammo capacities of secondary ammo types are less than those of regular ammo types. For weapons that support multiple ammo types, all secondary ammo types have red sprites, while all regular ammo types have blue sprites. The ammo sprites are otherwise identical. Dum Dums * Weapon: Pistol * Capacity: 36 Dum Dum rounds deal roughly ten times as much damage as regular Pistol rounds. For this reason, they are extremely rare, usually appearing no more than once per level. Their first appearance in the game is behind the poster in the gun store (Secret 3) in Gun Crazy. They are effective against powerful enemies such as the Battlelord. Explosive Shotgun Shells * Weapon: Shotgun * Capacity: 20 The explosive shotgun shells will render visible explosions upon impact, similar to the Devastator ammo from Duke Nukem 3D. They only appear on a few levels, as they are among the most powerful munitions in the game. Heat-Seeking Missiles * Weapon: Missile Launcher * Capacity: 25 As soon as they are fired, the heat-seeking missiles will automatically (i.e., without requiring the player to do anything) adjust their course in order to target an enemy near their line of fire. They do not actually lock-on to a single enemy; they instead appear to update their angle of movement every frame such that they are pointed slightly closer to the nearest enemy, which may change. For this reason, their line of movement can appear chaotic and turbulent if there are many mobile enemies within the vicinity. They have no time limit before exploding, so they will travel indefinitely until exploding upon impact. Usually, the Missile Launcher is a poor choice against Sentry Drones, which will quickly move out of the way when targeted by slow-moving projectiles such as the Missile Launcher's standard missiles. In contrast, the heat-seeking missiles will reliably hit Sentry Drones. Heat-seeking missiles are extremely rare and do not appear on more than a handful of levels. Retired Weapons Several weapons from the original Duke Nukem 3D have been retired and replaced with new weapons. The following weapons are nowhere to be found in Duke Nukem 64. Chaingun Cannon * Replacement: SMGs (Sub-Machine Guns) The Chaingun Cannon has been replaced by the SMGs. The SMGs carry twice as much ammo as the Chaingun Cannon, but they are much less accurate at long-range. RPG * Replacement: Grenade Launcher The RPG has been replaced by the Grenade Launcher. In contrast with the RPG, grenades from the Grenade Launcher will bounce and roll for three seconds before exploding, or the grenades will automatically detonate upon impact with enemies and with certain destructible objects. Devastator * Replacement: Missile Launcher The Devastator has been replaced by the Missile Launcher. The Missile Launcher fires like the RPG, but it has a slower rate of fire, firing approximately one rocket per second. Freezethrower * Replacement: Plasma Cannon The Freezethrower has been replaced by the Plasma Cannon. The Plasma Cannon is a completely new weapon that does not functionally resemble the Freezethrower or any other weapon. Unused Secondary Ammo Types There are remnants of code left in the game from secondary ammo types that were initially planned for inclusion in the game, but these were ultimately abandoned. Rubber Bullets * Weapon: SMGs (Sub-Machine Guns) There is some data in the game's memory that has the text "Rubber Bullets!" left over from an unused secondary ammo type. There also appears to be an unused sound clip in the game's memory that corresponds to rubber bullets being fired from a gun or bouncing off of walls. It is not known how the rubber bullets would have behaved, but they might have been able to bounce off of surfaces. Gas Grenades * Weapon: Grenade Launcher There is some data in the game's memory that has the text "Gas Grenades!" left over from an unused secondary ammo type. The gas grenades possibly could have imitated those from Shadow Warrior, from which the Grenade Launcher concept was borrowed.Category:Duke Nukem 64 Category:Lists Category:Weapons __FORCETOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__